Police to clear school run protest

A huge force of police and soldiers was today guaranteeing the safe passage of young Roman Catholic schoolgirls through a barrage of hatred in north Belfast.

The decision to prevent any further loyalist protests at the Holy Cross primary school in Ardoyne came before last night's riots in the city in which a 16-year-old youth was killed. Police decided that they had had enough of the often-violent protests by loyalist residents of the Glenbryn area of Ardoyne against the girls - some as young as four - walking along a Protestant street to their school.

Planned talks between the two sides had not materialised despite the intervention last week of South African peace-maker Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Assistant Chief Constable Alan McQuillan of the newly named Police Service of Northern Ireland - formerly the RUC - after fears that the continuing protest would lead to more violence.

Now police have decided on a "zero tolerance" attitude and are planning to clear all protesters from the area to allow the children and their parents to walk freely along the pavements for the 100 yards from the edge of a nationalist area to the primary school.

Holy Cross has been the site of disgraceful scenes since the start of the new term in September, including the throwing of a blast bomb, which have been seen live on TV screens across the world.

Tensions in the area rose further last night with rioting in other parts of north Belfast, during which a 16-year-old Protestant youth died from injuries inflicted by a blast bomb he was trying to throw. The youth had been spotted by security forces with a device in his hand shortly before he was killed.

Northern Ireland Office Security Minister Jane Kennedy described his death as "an appalling waste". She said: "This continuing violence is merely bringing more pain and anguish to areas and people that have suffered too much already."

Much of the violence this year has been orchestrated by the godfathers of the Ulster Defence Association, whose ceasefire was declared a sham a month ago by Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid. They have been using recently recruited teenagers to carry out their dirty work while remaining in the background themselves.

Now that their ceasefire has been declared officially over, any of their members freed early under the Good Friday Agreement found to be involved in terrorist acts can be returned to prison to serve the rest of their sentences. Hence, security sources believe, they are using youngsters to front their violence.

The disturbances last night were among the worst in recent years and resulted in injuries to dozens of police officers and soldiers as well as many civilian casualties. Many hundreds of rioters clashed with each other and with security forces during hours of violent rioting in many parts of north Belfast.

Police and troops were involved in hand-to-hand fighting with rioters as they sought to keep the two sides apart. Loyalist terrorists opened fire on a crowded pub in the docks areas, and on four Roman Catholic youths waiting at a bus shelter in the Fortwilliam area. No one was hurt.

Police later said there had been a further two shootings in the Belfast area overnight. A 23-year-old man was discovered shortly after midnight in New Mossley with a gunshot wound to a leg. He was taken to hospital. At about 1am, two masked men believed to be armed with shotguns forced their way into a house in Eliza Street, Belfast. They were prevented from entering a bedroom after a 33-year-old man inside managed to wedge the door shut. A shotgun was fired through the door but nobody was injured and the intruders fled.